Model for oxygen transfer in a shake flask

Abstract

Abstract The shake flask is a very common and useful tool for the study of submerged fermentations on a small scale. However, the oxygen supply may easily become a limiting factor. A model for the aeration in shake flasks is presented that enables one to predict whether in the course of an experiment the oxygen supply is becoming a growth‐limiting factor or not. The results of measurements of the transfer coefficient of a cotton plug and the oxygen mass‐transfer coefficient k l a are also given.